Friday, November 30, 2012

iPhone Photo Overload - part I

I have a lot of random phones from my iPhone that I thought I would lump into a post (or several...there are a LOT of random photos) with explanations.
 
Krista got Tyler a Curious George memory game for his birthday and Tyler LOVES to play games including Memory, ZINGO and Sequence for Kids.  I love playing board games with my sweet boy. 

Speaking of sweet boys...this little one melts my heart.

When Sandy watches the boys (and now Hadley) on Tuesdays she sends photo updates throughout the day which I love. 

Tyler reading books at Aunt Sandy's.  Shocking, I know.  

I think we are going to have a boy who likes to wear hats. 

Sweet Hadley.  She looks so tiny in this picture.  It is fun to see her growing so fast!

ICE CREAM!  (and a huge red mark on his forehead from a fall earlier that day)

Nathan gets put in the play pen when I need to do things like shower and go to the bathroom so I know where he is when I am finished.  

How can you not love a little duck after bath time? 
 
I promise there are more to come...a LOT more. :)


Thursday, November 29, 2012

School with GG

Tyler got to go to school with GG again this year to help her with her Christmas craft project.  You can see last year's school visit here
 
Tyler had to bring his backpack.  Of course.
I do have to admit this photo makes me tear up a bit.  He had no idea I was still there.  ;(
 
I was happy to spend the full morning with him watching him with the other kids.  A big thanks to my mom for watching Nathan for the morning. 
 
GG and I simplified the craft this year - thank goodness.  (Last year we used glitter glue - a bad idea for most 1st and 2nd graders.)
While Tyler went to the class rooms to get "more kids" with GG, I was in charge of setting up the crafts. 
 
Kids hard at work.

Tyler was busy coloring and working on his letters.  He can make a T, an O and an I...that is about all that is legible. 

We did the Santa ornament craft with some of the kids in the school library and Tyler was in LOVE!
This kid loves books more than anyone I have ever met...maybe even more than GG herself. 

GG loves volunteering with these little rug rats.  She has an extreme amount of patience and is so good with them.  I can do it for a few hours...and then I remember to really appreciate all teachers.  It is such an important profession that requires a LOT of patience. 
 
Thanks GG for inviting us to tag along for craft day.  Tyler loves going to school and I have fun helping too. 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Snowflake Art

Several weeks ago (I feel like I start every post this way), I found a fun idea on Pinterest and so to Michaels I went to get canvases. 
 
After a tiny bit a prep work with some masking tape, we were ready to go. 
 
Tyler loves to paint!

Very intent.

His job was to cover the entire canvas with paint.  Easy enough. 


Snowflake #2.


Messy hands!


Almost final product.  I outlined the snowflakes with black Sharpie and they look wonderful!  I love Tyler's artwork.  I am working on 3 more canvas masking tape designs to display all 4 seasons year round.  I will be sure to post photos when complete.   
 
I recommend this activity for kids who love to paint but may not quite be at the point of creating something recognizable.  ;)
 
 


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Hunting Season 2012

Deer season was a few weekends ago so the boys were dressed in their camo.  Odd enough dad was dressed in bright yellow before heading to the farm for deer camp. 
 
I am pretty sure all of my boys were annoyed that I was taking this photo. 
I told Kyle, Maggie and Hadley that we could pass the camo onesie down to Hadley for next season.  I am sure Maggie and Hadley are thrilled. ;)
 
In several short years Tyler and Nathan can join Daddy, PoPo, Uncle Kyle and the rest of the crew at Otter Creek Farms to hunt and maybe, just maybe, I will have a free weekend to shop and relax.  Ahhh...sounds lovely right now.
 
 
Since my mom was out of town, I was in charge of sending the traditional oatmeal pies.  Jeff didn't come back with any pie so I assume they were a hit. 
 
Daddy did come home with meat for the freezer.  He got a doe.  (Thank goodness, how ever would we eat!...insert sarcasm here.)  We are thankful he had a good time and that he came home safely. 
 
 
 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

8 Months!

Another month has come and gone.  The months sure do seem to be going quickly lately. 
 
Can you believe I am 8 months old?

I am pretty happy about it and think I am getting to be a big boy...with a lot of hair that was apparently pretty crazy on Friday.

I sure do have a hard time sitting still.

Hello!
Look at those beautiful eyes!

This is my favorite thing to do.  I love to stand on my own and take a few steps occasionally.  I also have excellent balance and love to dance. :)
 
Other updates:
  • The biggest change for Nathan this month has been the gradual switch to formula.  I think we only have 3 more frozen servings of breastmilk for him before he is completely transitioned.  With 6 teeth his time was up.  Let's just say Nathan ruined it for himself...
  • Nathan is very clearly saying MaMa and DaDa and we think he really knows who he is talking about.  Tyler doesn't seem to have a sound yet but Nathan still watches his every move and sometimes gets upset when he cannot see Tyler. 
  • Play time is so much fun - he walks around everything and pushes truck on the floor, plays with balls, trains, hammers, books...pretty much EVERYTHING!
  • Smiles are ALL the time and I love it. 
  • Sleep is good; however the last few days Nathan has been really wanting me to cuddle him to sleep rather than fall asleep on his own, especially at night.  (Maybe he is sad about not being nursed)  I was frustrated about it at first but in rethinking it I just really appreciate the time with my little guy. 
  • Nathan is really starting to get the hang of "Sooooo Big" and we are working on waving bye-bye. 
  • Nathan is VERY currious!  He is into everything.  For example, he unpluged the lamp downstairs the other day and put the plug in his mouth.  Why?  Who knows?  Nathan is sneaky/quiet and FAST!  I can turn around and have the panic of where is Nathan.  His favorite spot is the bathroom.  I have learned to keep the door closed.  It is tough when you have a three year old who needs to go potty.  We are already struggling getting Tyler to pull his pants up, wash his hands and so to add close the door...it just doesn't always happen. 
  • Overall, we are loving life with our two boys and cannot imagine the craziness any other way. :)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

6 Month / 3 Year Photo Shoot

Jeanne was nice enough, yet again, to take photos for us a few months ago to document Nathan turning 6 months and Tyler turning 3.  I love the photos!
 
 

I love these two boys! 

Two peas in a pod. 

I love this father/son photo. 

Nathan looks a bit startled.  I will give him a little break - he had just woken up. 

This was as close to a family photo as we got.  Tyler was not exactly cooperative...shocking, I know.

Happy boys!

Playtime/Mommy's workout. :)
 
This boy is growing up way too fast! 

So handsome!

Tyler's personality in full swing.

Maybe this crazy kid will cooperate for a family photo next time...I am not holding my breath though. 
 
Thanks, Jeanne!  We love the awesome photos of our boys!  You are the BEST!
 


Friday, November 9, 2012

Little Tiger Fan

Tyler got to go to the Mizzou football game with us a few weeks ago for Homecoming.  Krista was nice enough not only to host us for the weekend but also offered to babysit Nathan.  Thanks, Krista!  It was awesome to have a day with our big boy.  He is such a good Mizzou fan!
 
 
Funny story:  Tyler was on Uncle Kyle's shoulders and decided to yell "M-I-Z. "  The group around us responded "Z-O-U."  Tyler proceeded by yelling "one more time, everybody!"  He loved it!  He did get a bit upset when the announcer came over the loud speaker and got a bigger response than he did.  So he tried it again...and again...and again.  We had to tell Tyler enough with the M-I-Z for a bit buddy.  Then the next morning, in church, before the service started he yelled from the balcony "M-I-Z..."  Geez, we cannot contain the spirit.  We have since had a talk about when it is appropriate to cheer for the Tigers.  It is one of those stories I will want to remember many years from now. 

A bit concerned about the Tigers performance...

Taking a break from the game to play a different one. 

I think Daddy and Uncle Kyle were showing him how to check out the Golden Girls plays. 

Our little Tiger fan has a pretty sweet game day set up. 
 
 


Monday, November 5, 2012

Happy Halloween!

We had a very Happy Halloween last week!   We hope you did too! 
 
Happy 1st Halloween, Nathan!
This photo was taken before I took the boys to the sitter for the day - hence Nathan's face "Mom, why are you taking my picture this early in the morning?" 
(Note: That is not dirt on his forehead but a bruise he got on Tuesday.  Some sort of bump or bruise seems to be a permanent fixture on his head lately.)

We had a special jack o lantern pizza for dinner.  We didn't want to start off the night with healthy expectations or anything...

Tyler was a rocket ship! 
I am not sure why he was a one armed rocket ship in this photo. 
(Thanks to Jeanne for a few of these photos!)

Nathanstein.
He looks thrilled, eh?
 
Our boys!
 

The rocket ship trick-or-treating. 

Tyler was loving getting candy!  He was very polite too.  He would say "Happy Halloween!  Trick or treat.  Please and thank you."  It was though he had been practicing.  (We do practice a lot of things but this wasn't one of them.)

When there was a long walk in between house, we stuck the rocket ship in the stroller.  It was pretty funny looking.  As you can see, Nathan was pretty into the excitement of Halloween!

 
So brave.  These photos make me realize how big Tyler is getting that he is able to walk up to houses by himself.  I know that sounds silly but it just seems like such a big kid thing to do. :)
 
The day after Halloween Tyler wanted to organize his candy.  He clearly has a Type A personality like his mom.  The strange part was the first thing he wanted to eat out of his pumpkin was pretzels...not like his mom (I wish I would chose pretzles over candy).  Crazy kid!  This is also the kid that would rather have salad than macaroni and cheese.